Meat chopper



D. D. MALLORY MEAT CHOPPER Oct. 20, 1953 Filed Dec. 8, 1949 Dona/0 0 Ma/j ijv if I bgmwl I of, ttomeg:

Patented Oct. 20, 1953 MEAT CHOPPER Donald D. Mallory, Toledo, Ohio, assignor to Toledo Scale Company, Toledo, Ohio, a corporation of New Jersey Application December 8, 1949, Serial No. 131,753

1 Claim.

This invention relates to a machine for comminuting food and more particularly to a machine of the type known in the trade as a meat chopper and which has an inclined feeding barrel.

Conventional meat choppers are provided with a generally tubular barrel in which rotates a feeding worm and into which opens an ingress neck through which the butcher or other operator feeds the meat or food to be comminuted. At one end of the barrel is located driving machinery for rotating the feeding worm. The other end of the barrel is provided with a perforated plate which extends across the barrel and is usually held in place by a clamping ring or other clamping means removably fitted on the exterior of the barrel. A multiple bladed rotating knife usually is drivingly engaged in the end of the feeding worm and has blades which are swept over the inner surface of the perforated plate.

Because of the high order of cleanliness and the sanitary condition which it is necessary to maintain in establishments handling food, the barrel, feeding worm, plate and knife of a chopper must be readily removable and separable so that they can be sterilized in order to prevent contamination of the food passing through the machine. Because it is necessary to remove the worm for cleaning, it quite usually is provided with a quickly disengageable driving connection often in the form of a socket in the end of the driving shaft which projects into one end of the barrel and a tenon on the end of the worm which is drivingly engaged in the socket. This connection usually is disengageable merely by mov ing the worm longitudinally so that it can be quickly removed when desired.

In choppers having inclined feeding barrels when the retaining clamp or clamping ring is disengaged and the perforated plate and knife removed in machines constructed according to the teachings of the prior art, gravity caused the worm to fall out of the end of the barrel. It was necessary, therefore, to awkwardly retain the plate, knife and worm in the barrel when the clamping means was removed and, in many instances, fingers of an operator might be severely bruised during the removal operation or pinched between the parts.

It is an object of this invention to provide means for retaining a worm of a food chopper having an inclined barrel within the barrel when the end plate and its retaining means are removed and until such time as the worm is definitely and individually removed from the barrel. To accomplish this objective the machine must be so designed as to also comply with the requirements below. First, the means for retaining the worm must not interfere with its free rotation. Second, the means for retaining the worm must not require any separate disengagement and should not require any particular effort on the part of the operator because in a large sized meat chopper, the worm may weigh a considerable number of pounds and the operator may be required to use caution in handling it at all.

The mode of achieving this object under these limitations will become apparent from the specification which follows and from the drawings, in which Figure I is a view in perspective of a large size meat chopper which may be equipped with worm retaining means embodying the invention.

Figure II is a greatly enlarged fragmentary vertical sectional view showing a typical feeding barrel and its associated worm, plate, knife and retainer and illustrating a worm equipped with worm retaining means embodying the invention.

Figure III is a still further enlarged fragmentary detailed view of worm retaining means embodying the invention.

A conventional meat chopper having an in clined feeding barrel and of the type for which the instant invention is designed, may comprise a feeding tray I mounted in feeding relationship to a neck 2 (see also Figure II), the lower end of which opens into a general cylindrical feeding barrel 3. The feeding barrel 3 in the chopper shown in the drawings is slightly flaring and is provided with internal flutings 4 to assist a worm 5 in feeding the food to be comrninuted from the space beneath the lower end of the neck 2 downwardly and forwardly through the barrel 3 and against the inner face of a perforated plate 6.

The perforated plate 6 has a central aperture through which protrudes a shaft '1 of a multiple bladed rotary knife 8 which is drivingly engaged with the lower end of the worm 5 and which serves, therefore, as an outboard bearing for the worm 5. When the worm 5 is rotated the blades of the knife 8 are swept over the inner face of the perforated plate 6 and clip off small nodules of food which are forced into the openings in the plate by the feeding action of the worm 5. The nodules are extruded through the perforations in the plate 6 by following nodules. The plate 6 and the knife 8, which is journaled therein, are retained at thelower end of the barrel 3 Q by a generally annular retaining ring 9 which is threaded onto the exterior of the barrel 3 and is provided with an annular recess 10 for grasping the plate 6.

The upper end of the worm 5 is turned down into a cylindrical tenon H which is journaled in a sleeve bearing [2 mounted in a reduced diameter portion ofthe barrel 3. The barrel 3 is, socketed in. the end of a collar l3 which pro: jects slightly through an exterior housing [4 of the machine. The barrel 3 is retained in the, collar l3 by the engagement of a transverse shaft l5 in a notch [6 cut in the outer surface of the barrel 3. The shaft I 5 has. aflatted pore -tion I! which can be turnedinto toc leaig the exterior of the barrel 3 by a handle l8 (see Figure I) mounted on its end outside of thelgous; ing l4.

The uppermost end of the tenon of theworm; 5 is squared as indicated by the reference charester. '1 @IM i dbl heh sahle QQQX Q PQ Q J 3 2 1 1???? 29$ 2 d Of a W ham: hi ext nt Fan a ti a lytqita cif hs p m st 1 Qt h arre 3 n dri en by n w m han sm ea d W th n he h sih t4; but t hawn in. he d w n Thus v r a s s the fl t ed: s att t ree f tnsassmth th he h th "t. t hhr l co ta n ng he .0. 2 1?- blade h kn e 8. and h h 92 an he hemmed a u t rom heth h tr. me el by slid ng it: dQ-Whw rdh n t e in f he t s s r d 2-d aswm h h n sm; to facilitate cleaning or to change the perforated late.- nmt de a. plat ha in hq tsf a litt eht di h t t as. for ex m e when t e a-in ita t e rq iut ioh Q hambur er ta th h what. the ring 9' is unthreaded, freeing the plate Q and khiie 8. and the worm 5 SQ t by mg n he W t-m" ax a l t tan. be w thdra n tmm driving en a em nt h. he cthe 2 and. d whw tdli'. utv Qt he. arr l Ihdetd. r g a mach ne Q his htte t e Whe ver e 9 was hhth thtt d i th. ate t an hh s- 8. t hl t t he wqhhi t ht lide dq h htdly he. out ardly tteq iehtly telhh h 3 0. Wh r t. mi t ht dam gedb Wh it m h dam Qt t satin: ment or fingers or toes'of the operator. How: eve i a mea ODPt em d ms he in niqn e a cide t li tlat th ht t' ht orm is, bv ate by e hanism imple i qhst ttt i h and. ye tt tt i when. and that h s. n t hte ftte th q h iqh at he, he ttmq a t the n ire ba r and t tgh thts q th e: a al of th h i ht th ba l.- Th s m tha isrh tnsht t; an ahhulat stqtve 3 w a so. Fis -ire III. i tut h inner 5hr; face of the sleeve bearing [2 and a resilient snap r ng 23. wh ch s em la t Wit i he whale? groove 22 and closely circumjacent the cylin h tal t nth. H f. h wow 5 Whit i 9 t tttihtht i ti y r s Therefqre. Whth. h late 6: an hhit are 1%: mortal thtr h r e h he l wer th at the a t. t Wi ht, was. he 5 9 s its: qcwhtz rtihr the. barre 3 hut the alm st mediate engagement of the ring 23 with the lower wall of the annular groove 22 stops the movement of the ring 23 and, since the ring 23 is selected to be of sufficient strength to perform the operation, the ring 23 by tightly grasping the cylindrical tenon ll of the worm 5 prevents this heavy worm from sliding out of the barrel. When it is desiredhowever, to remove the worm the. operator; may, grasp the lower end of the worm 5 and with a sharp tug withdraw it from embrace of the ring 23. When it is desired to reinsert the worm 5 the operator merely shoves its squared tenon l9 into the lower end of the sleeve beating I 2; and pushes it upwardly. The tenc a op :sth lring 23 which then slides onto the 'cylindri tenor-'1 ll, again in tight grasping relationship.

Having described the invention, I claim:

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lieferences Cited in the file of this patent 12 E131? 57%1135 EAFENT 

